Budget Brits prefer cash to credit when travelling OS: report

Despite the rise of credit and debit card payments in the UK, when travelling abroad, 69% of Brits still choose cash as their preferred method of payment.

The research, conducted by International Currency Exchange (ICE), showed that both income and age played a significant role within this data too.

While 74% of people earning less than £10,000 would prefer to pay using cash while in a foreign country, that figure dropped to 58% for people earning more than £40,000. Not only this, 84% of those aged between 18 and 24 stated they prefer to use cash over card, compared to 65% of 55 to 64-year-olds.

Koko Sarkari, CEO of ICE, says: “It’s so interesting to look into the nation’s spending habits and look into what the norm is for us Brits when we go away. Using cash seems easier when it comes down to going abroad, this could be for many reasons. It’s easy to manage and stay on top of our spending and it also makes our holidays that extra bit special by being able to change our cash currencies.”